Natural Environment and Rural Communities Bill

Thank you, Madam Deputy Speaker, for giving me the opportunity to make my maiden speech. I pay tribute to hon. Members for their witty, erudite and polished maiden speeches. I pay particular tribute to my hon. Friend the Member for North-East Milton Keynes (Mr. Lancaster), as my family originate from Newport Pagnell. I hope that hon. Members will forgive me for being slightly unkind: it occurred to me while waiting many hours to speak that, in particular, the hon. Member for Bassetlaw (John Mann) certainly had a magnificent opportunity to avail himself of the right to gas—he certainly did. It is with gratitude that I thank the people of Peterborough for electing me to the House. It is with a mixture of pride and humility that I speak as the newly elected Member for Peterborough—a city that has elected Members to the House since 1529. Indeed, hon. Members will know that the city holds a record for being one of the most marginal parliamentary constituencies in the country. One of my esteemed predecessors, the late Lord Harmar-Nichols, previously Sir Harmar Nicholls, recorded majorities variously of 144, 137, 22 and just three votes in general elections between 1950 and 1974. Electorally, he was always living dangerously, and the Under-Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, the hon. Member for South Dorset (Jim Knight), will know how he feels, given his constituency. Those who have followed the fortunes of Peterborough United football club over the past few months can be reassured that there was one blue team in Peterborough that was not relegated this season, and I am pleased about that. We have always had rumbustious general elections in Peterborough. In 1895, baton-wielding police were called to the hustings to break up the kerfuffle. In 1906, the victorious Liberal candidate, George Greenwood, had his battlebus, or carriage, stolen and set alight as it was dragged across the city. One of the voters at the next general election may be my immediate predecessor, Mrs. Helen Clark. As hon. Members will know, shortly after losing her seat at last month’s general election, she announced her defection from the Labour party, after more than 20 years, to my party. It is customary to pay tribute to one’s predecessor in a maiden speech, and I compliment her on her good sense. I am proud of my constituency. At its heart is an ancient cathedral, one of the finest mediaeval cathedrals in Europe, surrounded by cutting-edge industries, such as the engineering companies Peter Brotherhood and Perkins Engines. Their names are synonymous with craftsmanship and British quality. The railways, too, provided employment for hundreds of local families over the past 150 years, particularly in the New England area of my constituency, which has been represented on the city council since 1954 by my friend, Councillor Charles Swift, OBE, who represents everything that is best about local government service and civic duty. In addition, major blue-chip companies, such as Thomas Cook and Freemans Catalogues, have also been attracted to the city owing to its good transport links. Peterborough is a very diverse constituency. I believe that I represent a larger number of Muslim constituents than any Member on the Opposition side of the House. The Government’s asylum policy notwithstanding, we in Peterborough have an admirable record of racial tolerance, as people from many different faiths and ethnic groups peaceably live and work alongside each other. It is appropriate that I join the debate on this Bill because, although I represent a wholly urban constituency, I have an interest in that English Nature is based in my constituency. My two concerns are that the jobs of the excellent work force at English Nature are protected and, more important, that the independence of that body is carried forward to the new organisation. In that regard, I agree in some respects with the hon. Member for Lewes (Norman Baker), who talks at least some good sense on the basis that, like me, he is a graduate of Royal Holloway college. I am concerned about the organisation’s independence and it is worth quoting Friends of the Earth. Conservative Members occasionally quote Friends of the Earth, which, as the hon. Gentleman said, has been a thorn in the Government’s side. Its concern is that the new integrated agency will not be able to be critical of the Government and will lack English Nature’s traditional independence. Friends of the Earth say that"““it is feared that the clear and focused remit of EN to conserve biodiversity (the diversity of England’s wildlife species and habitats) will be lost as the new integrated body will embrace a far wider set of issues from payments to farmers, diversifying the rural economy and access to the countryside.””" Peterborough is going forward. Over the next few months and years, through an urban regeneration company, the city council intends to rejuvenate and regenerate the city centre and boost our local secondary school centre with a major building programme. A city the size and stature of Peterborough should have a university; at the moment, it does not. While I am here, I intend to do what I can to rectify the position. Of course, it is the people of Peterborough who make the city such a good place in which to live and work. There is a warm community spirit and the generous nature of local residents is demonstrated by the success of three nationally renowned charities based in the city: ASBAH—the Association for Spina Bifida and Hydrocephalus; Deafblind UK; and the National Kidney Research Fund. It is fitting that I should pay tribute to the truly inspirational individuals who work tirelessly and selflessly on behalf of people less fortunate than most of us and whom it has been my privilege to meet over the past five years: John and Rosie Sandall, who have spent the past 16 years raising money for their kitchen-table charity for funds for the children of Chernobyl; Carol Bailey and her team at the Peterborough citadel of the Salvation Army, who do so much for the less fortunate people in the North ward; Paula Thacker of PHAB—Physically Handicapped, Able Bodied; Linda Dalton and the volunteer team at the Sue Ryder hospice at Thorpe Hall; and Graham Hicks, who raises money for Deafblind UK and who, in June 2003, became the first man to jet ski from Britain to Holland and back, despite being deaf and blind. I salute those charity champions of my community. I won the trust of the people of Peterborough by tackling various local issues and promising them that I would do all that I can to improve the quality of their lives. I beg the House’s indulgence to discuss an issue that came up on the doorsteps in Werrington, Eastgate and Millfield and across the city at the recent general election. Crime is that major problem in my city. On any one Saturday evening, there can be as few as 14 police officers on the streets of Peterborough—a city of 169,000 people. As the son and brother of policemen, I am only too aware of the problems faced by our police officers and the heartache suffered by the victims of crime. Over the past four years, the northern division of Cambridgeshire police has recorded a rise of 120 per cent. in violent crime and 44 per cent. in robbery. In addition, binge drinking, vandalism and yobbish behaviour are affecting the quality of life of residents in all parts of the city—black or white, rich or poor and young or old. Cambridgeshire is still in the bottom 10 of the worst-funded police authorities in England and Wales, and Peterborough lacks sufficient police officers on the street to make a significant and meaningful impact on crime and disorder. There are any number of gimmicks and talking shops, such as a local strategic partnership, crime and disorder reduction partnerships and community safety plans. In short, we have top-down diktats from the Home Office, which will fail to ameliorate the corrosive nature of public cynicism and frustration that undermine the criminal justice system. Senior police officers and local police authorities, including my own in Cambridgeshire, are accountable more to the Home Office than to local residents and local taxpayers. This cannot be right. I shall use my influence in the House to argue for greater localism and greater accountability. I believe that elected police chiefs are a step towards restoring the link between those who keep the Queen’s peace and those who pay for it. The move will go some way towards restoring my constituents’ faith in the criminal justice system and the rule of law. I am mindful of the fact that all political power is merely a leasehold held on trust and that it can be revoked at any time. The people of Peterborough put their trust in me on 5 May. I promised not to let them down and I promised also to be their ambassador in this place. Tonight, I reiterate that promise.